RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia House of Delegates House Appropriations Chairman Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, started his Friday morning last week with a death threat.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports Jones overheard a man berating a woman outside his home. He walked outside and saw a man had doused a well-known local homeless woman in hot chocolate and was threatening to burn her eyes out. Jones asked the man to leave her alone and turned away.

He was then attacked from behind.

Jones escaped with several neck scratches and a ripped shirt thanks to help from neighbors.

The Dispatch’s attempts to find the woman were unsuccessful, and Richmond Police say no arrests have been made. Regional homeless services nonprofit Homeward says 17.8 percent of homeless people reported being a victim of violence in the past year.